Women arrested for going topless at NH beach appeal to Supreme Court

Women go topless as they participate in the Free the Nipple global movement during Go Topless Day at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, Aug. 26, 2017.

The Associated Press•August 25, 2019 10:29 am

LACONIA, New Hampshire — Three women who were arrested for going topless at a New Hampshire beach are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case.

Heidi Lilley, Kia Sinclair and Ginger Pierro were arrested in Laconia in 2016. They’re part of a global campaign advocating for the rights of women to go topless called Free the Nipple.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld their convictions earlier this year, ruling that Laconia did not violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution with its ordinance barring women from showing their nipples in public.

New Hampshire Public Radio reports that the women have filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court appealing that ruling, arguing that the ordinance is inherently discriminatory on the basis of gender.